Prosecutors in France are investigating the role that Société Générale played in the transfer of $2 million that they believe was a bribe to ensure Rio de Janeiro won the rights to host the 2016 Summer Olympics.Credit
Bertrand Langlois/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Soares could not be reached for comment. His whereabouts is unknown.

The sprawling, French-led investigation into the attribution of major sporting events, including the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and several track and field championships, has not formally implicated any banks or bankers. The allegations have similarities with the decades-long global soccer corruption schemes unmasked by United States authorities in May 2015, which led to the arrests of several senior officials for trading their influence for millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks.

In the soccer corruption case, American authorities have scrutinized numerous banks through which bribe payments traveled, but none of those financial institutions have been publicly charged. One Swiss banker, however, has been convicted of money laundering conspiracy for having facilitated the transfer of tens of millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks to soccer officials.

âAnalysis of these flows suggests that the first transfer, due to its amount and its geographical origin, could be blocked in France in application of anti-money laundering rules,â according to the documents.

In their communication with their Brazilian counterparts, the French prosecutors said they had yet to determine âthe level of involvement of the bank.â

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Lamine Diack led track and fieldâs governing body for 16 years through 2015.Credit
Ian Walton/Getty Images

It is unclear what level of cooperation the bank has provided. Since July, the investigation has been transferred from the Parquet National Financier, Franceâs financial crimes investigator, to magistrate Renaud van Ruymbeke, a specialist in financial corruption.

Van Ruymbeke traveled to Rio last month and was present when the authorities there raided the home of Carlos Arthur Nuzman, the longtime head of Brazilâs Olympic Committee, and a crucial architect of the 2016 bid. Authorities accused Nuzman of being the central pillar of a scheme â along with the former Rio governor Sergio Cabral and Soares â to buy votes from African members of the I.O.C.

The African votes would have represented about 10 percent of the total cast for Rio in 2009. The cityâs bid had the lowest technical score from the I.O.C. of the four final bidders in Copenhagen. It beat out Madrid by 66-32 in a final round of voting after Chicago and Tokyo had been eliminated.

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âNuzman was the agent responsible for bringing together interested parties, making contacts and oiling relationships to organize the mechanisms for transferring Cabralâs bribes directly to African members of the International Olympic Committee, which was effectively done by way of Arthur Soares,â Rio prosecutors said in a statement at the time. Nuzman has emphatically denied any involvement. He has not been arrested.

Soares is the subject of an international arrest warrant; Cabral is serving 45 years in prison for a string of corruption-related crimes, including some tied to projects linked to the Olympics and soccerâs World Cup, held in Brazil in 2014.

Winning the Olympics was hailed by Rioâs bid leaders as an unparalleled opportunity to transform the city on a scale not seen in decades, and to improve the lives of millions of the coastal metropolisâs poorest citizens. Instead it turned into âan enormous trampoline for corruption,â the Brazilian prosecutor Fabiana Schneider said last month. Going into the final vote for selection, Rio was not considered the favorite but won, according to Schneider, despite being âthe worst candidate.â